SKDA was founded in 2001 by Sensei Valman. The association has built its reputation over the years teaching in: local schools, community centers and working with and alongside charitable organisations in the UK. We have also taught internationaly and work, train and exchange ideas with many other: local, national and international martial arts organisations.

SKDA have spent many years researching modern Karate and its traditional roots from China to the Islands of Okinawa into modern Japan. Other styles of older Okinawan Karate still exist and there are many discussions as to which is a better style or stronger, we believe this is down to the individual and how they learn, apply and codify their Karate. At SKDA we teach a mixture of modern and old style Karate, attempting to break down myths, understand Kata and introduce traditional weapons for the older students, which work side by side with open handed Karate.

SKDA runs friendly clubs that welcomes all students. We aim to help students achieve their goals, taking into account their individual abilities and ambitions. All our instructors hold valid enhanced DBS and first aid qualifications when working in schools and clubs. We want you to enjoy learning with us and have peace of mind that we will do our very best to make you feel welcome and secure in all our clubs.

Shotokan (松濤館, Shōtōkan) is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868 – 1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906 – 1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do". In 1924, Funakoshi Sensei adopted the Kyū/Dan rank system and the uniform (keikogi) developed by Kano Jigoro, the founder of Judo. This system uses coloured belts (obi) to indicate rank. Originally, karate had only three belt colours: white, brown, and black (with ranks within each).

Gichin Funakoshi had trained in both the popular styles of Okinawan karate of the time: Shōrei-ryū and Shōrin-ryū. After years of study in both styles, Funakoshi Sensei created a simpler system that combined the ideals of the two. He never named this system, however, always referring to it simply as "karate". Funakoshi's karate reflects the changes made in the art by Ankō Itosu, including the Heian/Pinan kata series. Funakoshi changed the names of some of the kata in an effort to make the Okinawan kata names easier to pronounce in the Japanese Honshū dialect.

Funakoshi Sensei had many students at the university clubs and outside dojos, who continued to teach karate after his death in 1957. However, internal disagreements (in particular the notion that competition is contrary to the essence of karate) led to the creation of different organisations, including an initial split between the Japan Karate Association (headed by Masatoshi Nakayama) and the Shotokai (headed by Motonobu Hironishi and Shigeru Egami), followed by many others, so that today there is no single "Shotokan school", although they all bear Funakoshi's influence.

As the most widely practiced style in the world, Shotokan is considered a traditional and influential form of karate.